Tim

Saw him across the room at about 6.30 - looked like a wrist injury - ie, was out of the sling, but wrist was strapped.

Nice work. So, only 5 have been premiership coaches coaching at one club - bodes ill for bringing a newbie on board. Also, as mentioned above, Mick will be breaking new ground if he gets his 5th at his new club. On balance, happier to roll the dice on that one rather than a newbie choice.

Absolutely - and we run the risk again of getting someone who dazzles the panel on the day with their presentation. On the other hand, if this lot can snag Mickey, all is forgiven.

What is it about 3 GF's in 2 years that you don't like? Didn't seem to adversely impact on the supporter base. The first 2 GF's for the Saints in 09/10 had a total (effective) losing margin of 7 points (forget Rooke's junk-time kick after the siren). Our only 2 efforts over 47 years gave us a combined margin of 156 points. However, Malthouse still the priority........

I, too, would be happy to see the sort of committed footy the Saints play applied to the Melbourne list. As for the game plan Ross Lyon would institute, hopefully 5 years at St Kilda would have developed his thinking. Would therefore expect that he would be a better, more rounded coach than the one that took the Saints to the heights of the last 2 seasons. As someone said, an errant bounce and Scarlett toe-poke away from back-to-back. Or perhaps more pointedly, in terms of coaching nouse, a few more minutes of Luke Ball on the ground away from winning in 2009, and then having Ball with him rather than against him in the 2010 affair. Still burning a candle for Malthouse, though.

Particularly like these two. Paddy apparently keen to cross the border, but would cost several arms and several legs, I would think. Sloane plays as though he doesn't subscribe to the principle of bruise-free footy, despite his slight frame.

Trudged to the G last week fully expecting a thrashing from Carlton. This week I'm optimistic of a far better showing. A win would not surprise, but would be disappointed with any less than a much closer game than last week. I think that the shock of the post-Cattery week was hard to overcome against Carlton - any "re-grouping" will be more evident this week. Cross fingers.

Agree with that Old, and the record probably shows that the list of successful coaches is not overly populated by the well-balanced and fully sane. An interesting thing about Malthouse is that he does seem to inspire strong loyalty from his troops, while still demanding fierce commitment from them (ie, he doesn't run an old chum's social club). Apart from other things that Malthouse would bring, we really need that.

RudeBoy - given your background, clearly a musical has to be in the offing. Elvis no longer available (presumably), so how does Justin Timberlake suit? Btw, congratulations on an outstanding book, and you should be proud of your and Rea's great contribution to helping Liam to realise his potential.

A telling moment was when Liam took a mark outside an empty 50 in the first quarter - held the ball up waiting for an option to present by players running forward into space. Players showed little intensity, just jogged along, and Liam tried a long shot which went astray. A little thing, but there was a goal up for grabs, and just not enough gut running. I thought then that things were not going to end happily for us.

Joeboy - generally agree, but I thought Ricky worked hard tonight, and was better than that assessment suggests. And the mark certainly was awesome!

Absolutely - terrific pressure from him in 4th q.

In that context I recall Dean Bailey at the AGM/Season launch in the MCC Dining Room in February saying words to the effect that we were now in control of our own destiny, including the injury count. No excuses. He even reiterated the point. I was surprised by his comments, as I could see that there were some injuries that could not be helped - eg, Col Sylvia's jaw re-arrangement in pre-season 2010. On the other hand, I took it as a positive in that he seemed to be saying that, apart from that sort of injury, better management of players could reduce our injury list significantly.

A well weighted analysis, Red.

Thanks!

Does anyone know what number he'll have on his back? The MFC website doesn't have him (and the other rookies) on the list of players.

Did he ask Paddy-boy Dangerfield?

Hell - that was tried in the end of season game against Richmond in 2009, and it didn't work! B)

He was starting to show something last year, and starting to develop a role as a defensive forward who could snag goals, including from outside 50. Seems to have gone backwards this year, unfortunately. I guess the other night he only had limited game time as the sub, but still didn't shine when he was given a run.

Sorry for the new topic, but does anyone have 2 tickets for tomorrow night they want to unload?

Absolutely does not describe me, on both counts. And I don't like the optics of the deal. Cam's performance has been brilliant for the club. I just don't like this arrangement, and would rather that the need for the finance was accommodated in another way.

What he said. The fact that there is so much speculation on the circumstances of the loan, and whether or not it is fully arm's length, means the optics are bad. I'm a big fan of Cam and what he has done around the club. However, the "Caesar's wife" principle should apply here - it is at least demeaning to Cam that his personal circumstances are on display and connected with the club's finances. Doesn't have to be untoward to be not a good look. And I'm nowhere near a high horse, let alone on one.

Hi - I know that we get some welcome contributions from MFC Administration on Demonland, so it seems that this site is watched from that quarter. I would just like to put forward a suggestion to the club. In the interests of saving money, MFC sends out only one copy of a mail-out to households where there are multiple members. I reckon this is a false economy, and I know first hand of a number of households where there are multiple MFC members of at least late teenage age. Suggest the club engage with each member as an individual and post out the club info to each person. After all, they have all paid (often) full price. Reliance on head of household not hoarding the club missives means that keen members don't get full contact from the club. Just a thought,in the interests of better engagement with the flock....

Neville Jetta is showing good development this pre-season, and was good again yesterday. Ditto the A Maric. Jeremy Howe showed something, I thought. We've seen the hanger-thon in his highlight reel - and he had a go at adding to it yesterday - but I liked his work at ground level. He was quick, generally clean and used it well. Admittedly, he didn't exactly get leather poisoning, but I liked what he did, and looked like he has upside as a mobile forward with good aerial skills. Also good to see Ricky Petterd back in good form - a very useful player for us if he can get an injury-free run.

Colin Garland came to the club as a forward, but Bailey has used him to great effect as a backman who can play against the fast and the tall, and who can create options driving the ball forward with good old run and carry.